Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he has approved a negotiating delegation to travel to Qatar on Tuesday to participate in US-led prisoner exchange talks.
The decision was announced after the embattled premier met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Huckabee earlier in the day and spoke over the phone with US President Donald Trump.
“I thanked President Trump for his assistance in the release of IDF soldier Edan Alexander. President Trump, for his part, reiterated his commitment to Israel and his desire to continue close cooperation with me,” Netanyahu wrote on social media.
“In my meeting with Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee, we discussed the last-ditch effort to implement the outline for the release of the hostages presented by Witkoff, before the fighting escalates. To this end, I have instructed that a negotiating delegation be sent to Doha tomorrow,” Netanyahu added.
He also said he had informed his US allies “that negotiations would only take place under fire.”
Netanyahu’s announcement came a few hours after he rejected reports that a rift exists between him and Trump, calling his relationship with the US president “excellent.”
“These spins – most of them are born here [in Israel.] They’re born in a certain media outlet that’s trying to promote a certain candidate. And in order to promote him, they need to say: ‘Trump and Netanyahu are no longer,’” Netanyahu said in a video posted on his X account.
Edan Alexander’s mom takes the phone from White House envoy @SteveWitkoff and speaks to her son after he was released. Watch here: pic.twitter.com/VhGKCRJZ9y
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 12, 2025
This comes as Israeli-US captive Edan Alexander was released by Hamas on Monday evening. Officials from Washington reportedly informed Tel Aviv that his release will kickstart a new round of prisoner exchange talks.
Alexander’s release reportedly prompted a partial stop in Israeli army operations inside Gaza.
🚨BREAKING: Over 550 retired senior Israeli security officials—including the former Head of Mossad, former Head of the Shin Bet, and former Deputy Chief of the Israeli army—have sent a letter to President Trump urging him not to listen to Netanyahu on the war in Gaza.
They… pic.twitter.com/91JxpeG6qn
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) May 12, 2025
“A significant number of military operations have indeed been halted. There are no airstrikes in Gaza, aside from a few attacks, and no drone reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip,” Israeli Army Radio had reported Monday morning.
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